Like many successful Comm School students, Ryan Bowers emerged from McIntire with a clear trajectory toward a promising professional future in business. His reasons for optimism are many, but they are, perhaps, the results of a wide range of academic and extracurricular endeavors he’s undertaken during his time at UVA.
Despite the path he’s taking now, business wasn’t always his focus. As a high school junior, Bowers was leaning toward majoring in Engineering until a global halt triggered by the pandemic dramatically shifted his focus—and his future.
“When COVID hit, I wanted to give some tennis lessons. I’d always coached tennis growing up, so I started my own tennis lessons company. That took off really, really quickly,” the Alexandria, VA, native says. His early venture into entrepreneurship not only sparked a keen interest in business, but also inspired him to take initial steps toward applying to the Comm School. His ability to manage 120 clients of his own was an early sign of his potential for success in corporate finance.
At McIntire, Bowers honed his skills further through rigorous coursework and diverse roles in student organizations. Maintaining a Finance concentration, Bowers added a double major in Economics at the College of Arts & Sciences and a minor in Public Policy from the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. “I stuck with Econ because I liked the theory behind finance. With Public Policy, that was a more creative lens to solving problems,” he says.
Those academic choices reflected a multifaceted approach to understanding business deeply, integrating both theoretical models and real-world policy implications. Through McIntire coursework, Bowers was greatly influenced by faculty like Professor David C. Smith, whose classes in corporate finance and restructuring provided him with practical insights that were elevated by engaging guest speakers. “Professor Smith helped me a lot with the job search, which was great. He’s able to make a bunch of those connections, and many of them also come through people we hear in class,” Bowers says.
Bowers also credits Integrated Core Experience (ICE) communication courses with Professors Kiera Allison and Marcia Pentz for his professional readiness. “Being able to communicate different ideas distinctly to people and to be able to get up in front of a group and present without being nervous make the biggest difference and made me stand out at my job,” he says.
Through Smith’s mentorship and the structured communication training from Allison and Pentz, Bowers developed a unique confidence in delivering presentations that proved invaluable during high-pressure situations, including his internship presentation to senior partners at Evercore.
Beyond academics, Bowers’s engagement within extracurricular activities was vast, including participation in Club Tennis and Student Council. His role as Vice President for Organizations in Student Council saw him overseeing 900 clubs, distributing a million dollars in funding, and spearheading leadership summits. “Because of the different strategy functions involved in Student Council, I was able to do a lot through that role of managing a team, working with administrators, working with other students, and then defining how we were going to go forward,” he explains.
The strategic thinking and leadership skills gained through Student Council aligned closely with Management courses at the Comm School and proved crucial during his internship at Evercore in New York.
He also benefited from the diversity of the Comm School student body. “McIntire led to a bunch of opportunities to meet many different people—people I would never cross paths with otherwise. I really appreciated that,” he reflects, recognizing the importance of networking and teamwork.
His role in investment banking underscores the quantitative and analytical aspects necessary for handling high-stakes financial transactions and mergers, skills he learned at UVA and quickly applied on the job. “I’m going back to Evercore post-graduation as well,” he shares. Noting that he’ll be taking on the position of a Financial Sponsors Analyst, working with private equity coverage and related M&A deals.
Throughout his UVA journey, Bowers balanced multiple commitments, learning extensively from each sector of involvement; the blend of academic information and practical exposure fortified his understanding and readiness for his professional life. As he prepares to embrace a career in New York City finance, the comprehensive education at McIntire stands as a robust foundation for whatever comes next. Bowers remarks, “I’m really excited for post-grad, and McIntire has prepared me well for that.”
